Celsus

So who was the smartarse who said, "We learn from history that we learn nothing from history"?

Edit: Oh Hegel. "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history." Of course. (Ta Google)

stretch

Could be wrong on that ... maybe during the inquisition, it might have been used with a period. But, if so, English probably wasn't the language used ... so the quote might be hard to find.

abe smith

Thanks, Stretch! I expect your kindly provision is one event of the thing I seek (Sorry for the syntactical garble; late ayem isn't my coherent time of day.) and your embolus makes it into an Enlightenment opinion. ( "embolus"? )
I do think the initial clause may have been fulminated-out by some hierarchist/pope afore that tho. Eh maybe I could look in Flaubert's uh, uh ..... Bouvard & Pechuchet dictionary. Holy smoke that's WAYYYYY back there somewhere.

stretch

I tried looking in a French-language book of citations that I have at home ... no luck there.

Wiploc

This guy seems to have an opinion about where the, "Error has no rights..." phrase came from:

- Your pathetic reiteration of the Masonic
- dictum, "Error has no rights, only persons
- have rights", was adopted at Vatican II at
- the urging of (among others) arch-heretic
- Father John Courtney Murray, S.J. This shows
- an either culpable ignorance or blatant
- disregard for the true understanding of the
- Traditional doctrine that, indeed, "error has
- no rights." As was stated many times before
- Vatican II, error can only be believed, spread
- and articulated by persons and so it is difficult
- to see what it would mean to say "error has
- no right to be spread" if one held at the same
- time"persons have the right to spread error".--if
- "right" has the same sense in both statements?
- How can one have a genuine right to believe,
- spread, or practice what is objectively false or
- immoral? Any genuine right is based exclusively
- on what is TRUE and GOOD.
http://www.aretheos.com/Corresponden...espondence.htm

stretch

re: error has no rights ....

From what I've been able to find, this is a phrase often used to summarize a portion of Catholic doctrine ... but is not an actual quote. If you want a couple of relevant links, let me know.

abe smith

Thanks for your kind & scholarly offer, Stretch; as well as (again) for your prior citations. I'd be very glad to read any tangentials about this (mind-gnawing) assertion, if you can spare the time & effort to link me on. Thanks. Abe

stretch

try this ... it gives a bit of an overview .... admittedly a Catholic one ... but, whether or not you agree with it, I hope you find it to be informative.

abe smith

's taken me a while to connect (snow, ya know); thanks for your kindly providing me w/ the comment on *Dignitatis humanae*; I've printed myself a copy and will go home & read it; surely w/ profit. I always feel more secure (certainly NOT NECESSARILY "convinced" = you know that!) by a nice thus-verbose outlay about ideas.
I'd inquire you about your thinking-connexions; certainly not as a challenge! Mere personal interest; but I suppose that's intrusive. Agen thanks! Abe

stretch

Abe,

Snow is great. It makes you sit inside and think

Problem is that the farther north you get, the less they care about the fact that it's too cold or snowy ... they make you go to work regardless ... and how are you supposed to sit and ponder if they make you go to work

If you wants to ask about my thinking-connexions, go ahead. The worst answer you'll get from me is 'it ain't none of your busines' ... and that's unlikely ...